Tennis: Austria's Thiem powers his way into last 16 showdown with Nishikori

PARIS (Reuters) - Seventh seed Dominic Thiem muscled his way into the fourth round of the French Open on Friday, putting out Italian claycourt specialist Marco Berrettini 6-3 6-7(5) 6-3 6-2.

Hitting searing forehands and serves of up to 224 kph (139 mph), Thiem was in combative form on Roland Garros’s No. 1 court, dubbed the bullring, eventually running away with the win.

The world number eight, who had a strong build up to the Paris major, winning in Lyon and making the final in Madrid after beating Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals, will take on Japan’s Kei Nishikori, the 19th seed, in the last 16.

The win means Thiem has reached the fourth round of the French for the third year in a row but what he will be aiming for is to improve on the two semi-final runs he made over the past two years.